King’s Online Down Under

Last week, members of the King’s Online and Students & Education teams represented King’s College London in a trip to Sydney, Australia to meet fellow colleagues in the PLuS Alliance.

The PLuS Alliance is a tripartite agreement between King’s College London, Arizona State University (ASU) and University of New South Wales (UNSW).

The purpose of the visit was to connect colleagues from the three universities to discuss opportunities for online module exchanges and to explore the potential for future joint courses.

“One thing I didn’t anticipate, considering we all share the common language of English, was the different terminology we each use to talk about instructional design and development! There were a few quizzical looks around the table in our first meeting, as we all came to grips with the different meanings for programmes, courses, modules, degrees and units!” – Karen Greetham, Programmes Project Manager.

Besides enjoying the local cuisine, abundant sunshine and warm hospitality of the UNSW staff and students, the team benefitted by sharing best practices, challenges and opportunities, processes and potential improvements with their colleagues in UNSW and ASU.

Discussions around areas of study, potential courses to develop, logistical arrangements, assessment, marking, admissions and marketing made for a very busy schedule, in a short one-week visit.

“I’m really looking forward to the future development of this alliance; our commitment to this worldwide partnership is another great step as we continue in our mission to bring a King’s education to a global audience.” – Anna Wood, Director of King’s Online

Karen Greetham, Fabio Serenelli, Anna Wood and Tom Whitelaw from King’s becoming acquainted with the Australian way at UNSW in Sydney.